History: Early schemes to sell lots in a town with nothing ‘garish or artificial’
By James Blaha, BGHC
In 1925, a former real estate company promoted Boca Grande with the following advertisement: “Boca Grande is unique among Florida resorts. For many years it has gone on its way unexploited by commercialism, unmoved by real estate excitement, attending to its business of being beautiful and restful and the winter home of a very discriminating group of people … it will continue to go on much in the same direction. Boca Grande has no noise, no crowds, no traffic problems, no commercial activities, and no real estate developments. It has nothing garish or artificial. It has no boom, it will have no boom … a small number of lots are for sale here. They are very reasonably priced … we are not seeking speculative buyers. If you are looking for a delightful winter residence, you will find it here … it is not too good to be true.”
No traffic problems? No noise? No crowds? No commercial activities? No real estate developments? No boom? Obviously, the predictions of the 1925 real estate ad did not entirely come to fruition! Although Gasparilla Island’s governing rules and regulations (Gasparilla Island Conservation District Act) and the regulation enforcement of the GICIA (Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association) have discouraged high-rise buildings and other characteristics of many other rapidly growing Florida communities, traffic problems and related growth concerns now confront the island’s residents. Given the growth-related challenges of Boca Grande today, it is necessary to share some of the earlier attempts to promote the “selling of Boca Grande.”
Albert W. Gilchrist, a former member of the Florida Legislature and Florida Governor, began obtaining land in the center of Gasparilla Island as early as 1890. He proceeded to file the first of four plats in 1897, eventually owning 512 acres by 1905. On November 8, 1905, a sales contract of the Gilchrist property on Gasparilla Island was signed between John P. Wall Jr. (a Tampa attorney) and Albert Gilchrist. Wall had been hired by the American Agricultural Company to obtain land for the building of a railroad right of way.
In 1907, the American Agricultural Chemical Company of Connecticut completed building a subsidiary railroad (Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railroad), which went from central Florida to south Boca Grande. The American Agricultural Chemical Company and its subsidiary railroad also created another subsidiary called the Boca Grande Land Company, which eventually became known as the Boca Grande Corporation. One of the sales methods employed by the Boca Grande Land Company was to provide an expensive “sea sled” to take potential buyers to Boca Grande. (A sea sled was the forerunner of today’s high-speed catamaran.) Unfortunately for the Boca Grande Land Company, only a few interior lots were sold. Michael Ingram, author of *A Title Examiner’s History of Boca Grande*, stated, “The salesmen,” (sometimes referred to as snake oil salesmen) “who were reported to be heavy drinkers wrecked the sea sled, and also managed to offend the Crowninshields, the social leaders of the cottage colony.”
In 1925, a well-known land promoter and auctioneer (Joseph P. Day) was hired by the Boca Grande Land Company to quickly sell specific lots. One of the land company’s flyers promoting the sale stated: “Florida west coast profits seem like a romance … you have heard of the almost unbelievable profits people have made in waterfront properties on the West Coast of Florida. A little investigation will convince you that these reports are not exaggerated … you must own one or more of the Boca Grande lots if you would enjoy the profits this real estate boom should bring to the fortunate owners… Can’t you see that this is the chance you have been waiting for to safely invest your money with the prospect of speedy profits …”
An ad by the Boca Grande Land Company said: “Boca Grande is a storybook image come to life. Its giant coconut palms, rubber trees, and feathery Australian palms lay dappled shadows over its quiet, winding roads and lend exquisite grace to the architectural loveliness of its homes—even the new homes will suggest the old French bayou and the plantation homes of Louisiana…”
Additional language included:
“Rich in Quick PROFIT-MAKING Possibilities”
A public auction in Tampa in January 1926 by the Boca Grande Land Company resulted in selling only six interior lots. Due to concerns regarding the Boca Grande Land Company’s promotional activities and lack of sales, a select group of beachfront residents attempted to take control of the land sales and was only moderately successful.
The Boca Grande Land Company sold all its remaining lots in a bulk sale to Henry L. Schwartz of New York (owner of Sunset Realty Corporation) in 1945 for $200,000 with 20 percent down. The asking price was $250,000. (The profit loss for the American Agricultural Chemical Company’s land sales was reported to be $1,131,844.) The Gasparilla Island Association (previously mentioned group of beachfront residents known as the cottage colony) was only able to raise $135,000 towards the asking price ($250,000) for the remaining lots. The sale of the property to Sunset Realty has been referred to as the “End of an Era” due to the end of the attempts by the Boca Grande Land Company and the American Agricultural Chemical Company to amass profits by selling lots on Gasparilla Island.
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